Wolf made it home, safe and sound. And promptly got nice and drunk for the three of us. Now it's Driver and myself that are moping around camp. Every once in awhile -- usually when we see or talk about something that reminds us of him -- Driver will exclaim "I miss Wolf!" With luck, we'll visit him after we return to the States.
One of the things Wolf's departure brought up was each of our concerns about re-entry shock. Driver and I both have to go through a demobilization process. Wolf, because he's Active Duty, just went straight home. No gradual return to "normal" life. Just get on the plane and go home, enjoy yourself, don't get in trouble, report to your next duty station once your leave is complete. On the other hand, the two of us will be held on a military post before being released to civilian life. No rushing off the plane and straight to our families. No big parties right away. Nothing other than the same ugly mugs that we've been living with, working with and socializing with for the past year. Only at that point we'll be in the States.
But once they do cut us loose is where our concerns begin. I'll start with one of the very basic and nearly essential parts of American life: driving a car. I haven't been behind a wheel of a car since last September. And even then, I was struggling -- I tried to leave my driveway with the ignition turned off. In case you haven't tried it, it doesn't work so well. Driver is a different story. He drives all the time here, but just because the nature of his job we're both afraid to let him drive in the States. When he drives during a convoy they are weaving all over the road. If he drives like that once we're in the States, he's likely to get pulled over under the suspicion that he's drunk.
The list goes on: losing all structure to one's life, losing support networks, reconnecting with those at home, paying for food, paying for gas, dealing with civilians, finding a job, going back to work, going back to school... you get the idea. It's a little overwhelming.
How in the world are we going to pull this off?
They asked for volunteers, so I volunteered. I deployed and spent a year in the sandbox. I came home. The Army decided I was too broken to serve any longer and gave me temporary medical retirement. I'm a civilian again and married right back in. My husband is gearing to deploy. In the meantime, I have a strange love-hate relationship with the Army. Sometimes it sucks, sometimes it doesn't.
About Me
- Techno
- I'm a contradiction all by myself. Soldier and student. Stargazer and computer geek. Boots and music. Paper pusher and globetrotter. It all works out in the end.
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A bit of history...
There was a call for volunteers to deploy in Spring of 2006. I volunteered, was selected, passed the screening process, and was sent to reclassification training to go from being a bandsman to a human resource specialist. After graduation, I was home for roughly a month. I met the rest of my new unit right before we were sent to mobilization training. Once validated, we were sent overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
I left university, quit my job, dumped my foreign boyfriend, and said a few very painful goodbyes. But I don't regret it one bit.
In early August, I was MEDEVAC'd out of the desert. My unit was just a few weeks away from going home. Now my only job is to get better. The irony is that they returned to their homes before I did.The Army has offered me disability and temporary retirement pay. I'm taking it. Bye bye combat boots.
2 comments:
Hey Techno. I wish I had some wisdom to share. I had those four months living in a hundred room Manor, with meals cooked for me and dishes and things taken care of, and friends at all the meals or just around the corner. Travel, and new experiences. Coming back home from that was terrible for a while. Your situation is way different, of course. Mine was like a fairy tale that I didn't want to give up. You've adapted to living without a lot of things you would have taken for granted before, like personal transportation, and deciding what you want to wear each day. But I'm sure that it has to be easier to adapt to that than it was adapting to what you're doing now. You'll want to get back to some of the familiar things, like the really good friends, and choice of foods and things, and other things just won't matter to you because you've changed as a person. Don't worry about the driving - I went from driving a Miata 40,000 miles a year to looking out of coach windows for four months. I was glad to get back behind the wheel again. You might want to bring some gas back with you, though. Think of just enough things you like about home that you won't get homesick ahead of time. Take care. John
I have driven twice since I moved here in 2004. Neither time was it here in Brasil. I hope it's like riding a bike (something I will also do this summer when I go back to visit).
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